Lidia, ti lasso (ahi lasso)

Giambattista Marino's words paint a poignant scene of lovers parting, as the speaker declares his departure from Lidia but leaves his heart behind. He questions how he can live without his heart, which is Lidia herself. This secular madrigal for SSATB voices expresses the pain of separation and the deep connection between lovers, with the composer Salamone Rossi setting the text to music that captures the emotional turmoil. The interplay of voices reflects the speaker's desperate wish that Lidia could accompany him, or he her, so that their hearts, inextricably linked, might remain together.